Police and the Private
by BlackBirdPie
Summary: AU/AH. Blackwater. His one job was to protect her. It's just that how to do that was getting less and less clear.
1. Thursday November 6th, 6:15 AM

**Totally AU, and AH which is not my usual schtick. But that's life, isn't it? This idea would not be ignored. The lyrics are from the song by Metric, Police and the Private off their album Live It Out. Part of the reason I chose this song was because it's so full of paranoia and not knowing who you can trust, which is a big undercurrent in this story. ALSO, I'm not an expert on safe houses, and agents, and police business in general, most is plucked from my imagination…and the movies, so if there are things wrong…that's why! Updates will be frequent, probably daily. It's sort of my goal to have this all uploaded within the next two weeks. And each chapter is going to be really short, so I will just do this long (sorry!) A/N and another at the end. Also, the different pieces can be read in the order I post them, or the order they technically take place. Whichever makes you happy happy happy :)  
****The rest is Stephie Meyer's.**

**Police and the Private**

_Keep one eye on the door, keep one eye on the bed__  
__Never expect to be sure, who you're working for_

**Thursday November 6****th****, 6:15 AM.**

She was sitting on the couch, her knee jiggling. They told me I should expect this.

For them to be nervous.

And she was talking. Chattering, actually. On and on and on. They said that this was done a lot also, because of the nerves, of course.

"This is not how I expected a safe house to look." She said, now jiggling her left knee instead. "I thought it would be more…I don't know. Desolate."

If you asked me, the plain brown couch, no decoration, and smell that meant not-regularly-lived-in…well that was enough to be pretty desolate.

"But the couch is nice enough. Springy." She bounced on it twice. "Sorry. I'm talking a lot. I don't usually talk this much."

"It's okay." I told her.


	2. Wednesday November 5th, 8:55 AM

**Wednesday November 5****th****, 8:55 PM.**

"Yeah dad." I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Sure, sure. I'll be there this weekend. I know, Rebecca and Rachel's 'surprise party'. Yes, I did say that sarcastically since everyone on the Rez and their pet cat knows about it. No! No, it wasn't me. Paul. He has a big mouth." I laughed at my dad's hearty agreement. "See you Saturday."

Just as I set the phone back down, it started ringing again. "Yeah D—"

"Agent Black." I was really glad I didn't answer it thinking it was my father.

"Hello sir."

"We've got something for you. It'll take you away from home for a few days."

"That's fine, sir. When should I come in?"

"Immedately. And dress civilian."

"Yes—" The other end went dead. "Sir."

I guessed I wouldn't be making it to the birthday after all.

This was working out well.


	3. Wednesday November 5th, 10:07 AM

**Wednesday November 5****th****, 10:07 PM**

I've been sitting in the office waiting room for almost an hour by the time a woman in a black pantsuit with tight hair comes out.

"Agent Black, they're ready for you."

"Great." I know I sound sarcastic. "Thanks." The second bit doesn't really help.

We walk to the back of the building, which I've never been to before. But, really, I haven't been anywhere in this building before.

I've just been hanging around Seattle for a month now, doing nothing.

And thinking about how I didn't leave (run away) home for this.

"Agent." The man talking is sitting at his desk. And he should look old, with the white hair, and lines, but he doesn't. He looks…intimidating.

"Sir." Which is how I address nearly everyone, because it seems like a safe way to go when you don't know anybody's name or rank.

"You've gotten a bit of a break since moving here. That's over. You going to keep safe a…" He looks at the paper in front of him, "Leah Clearwater."

"Yes sir."

"I'll have another agent debrief you. But you should know, this is a very important case. She is _vital_ to this case. And you can't trust her."

"You've made yourself clear, sir."

"I should hope so."


	4. Friday November 7th, 11:32 AM

**Friday November 7****th****, 11:32 AM. **

"Are you hungry?" I asked her. She was thin enough already, and I didn't think skipping meals would do her any good, and she hadn't eaten yesterday.

"There's food here?" She was still perched on the edge of the couch.

"Some."

"Anything good?" She didn't look hopeful.

"Probably not." I smiled.

"Cereal?"

I looked through the cabinets. "Cheerios." Opening the fridge, it was empty. And somehow I knew Leah was going to be really disappointed by that. "But no milk."

Her face fell. "I don't know how people eat dry cereal. I guess I'll have to learn." She reached for the box when there was a knocking at the front door.

Her eyes froze for a fraction of a second before I flew into action.

I grabbed Leah from behind me, holding my gun in my right hand. "Closet." I hissed. There was a closet in the hallway between the kitchen and the living room. She fumbled with the knob, barely stepping in before I shut the door behind me. "Get in the crawlspace if you hear shots." I instructed her.

Inching towards the curtains, I looked out. There was a guy dressed as a mailman on the front step, a manila folder in his hands. Further down the street there was a postal vehicle, which was a good sign, because those were harder to come up with then just an outfit and letter bag.

He dropped the letter through the mail slot, walking off to his next house. Whistling. He didn't even realize I was in here pointing a gun at his face.

"Jacob?" I heard Leah whisper from the closet.

"Stay there, and stay quiet."

The letter lay on the floor, address side up. It matched the address here.

It was only when I looked at the rest of the envelope that I knew this was bad. Really bad.

The return address was mine.


	5. Saturday November 8th, 12:00 AM

**Saturday November 8****th****, 12:00 AM.**

"Jake, please." She said, her had resting on my chest.

"No."

"You're not listening to me. If I leave then we'll both be safe!"

"I said no. It's my job to protect you. Literally, Leah. _It's my job_."

She stood there for a moment, I felt her hand tense up, her breath stop. "Is that all it is?" She asks, her voice low.

_Yes. No. I don't know._

"It's what matters."

And I knew from the look on her face it was the wrong answer.


	6. Thursday November 6th, 9:47 AM

**Thursday November 6****th****, 9:47 AM. **

I wasn't sure if I was allowed to check voicemail or not. But I had sixteen messages from my sisters…the bureau must have contacted them somehow. And I wasn't sure what part of that I was more uncomfortable with.

_"JACOB WILLIAM BLACK, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING NOT COMING TO OUR SURPRISE BIRTHDAY? I DON'T KNOW WHOYOU THINK YOU ARE LITTLE BROTHER BUT THIS IS NOT THE TYPE OF SHIT I AM GOING TO PUT UP WITH—"_

_ "Hey Jake," _Rebecca, it sounded like, had gotten ahold of the phone. _"I think what she means, shhh Rachel, what she means is we are sorry that you can't come. And stay safe. And also, I hope this isn't because of that stupid little slut Bella Swan, who by the way my offer to kill still stands…alright. Love you."_

"You have sisters?" Leah asked.

"Sorry. You weren't supposed to hear that. That was unprofessional and—"

"You're fine." She waved her hand. "I have a brother. At home. But I haven't seen him for ages…he's a good kid."

"Younger brother?"

She nods. "Older sisters?"

"You could tell?"

"Yeah, maybe a little." She's pacing the room now, an escalation from the jiggling knee, he figures. "So what should I call you? Agent?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Jacob is fine, I guess."

"Jacob. Alright. Jacob, Is this typical of them…I mean us, I guess. For people stashed away in safe houses. To be so on edge?"

"That's what they say."

"They?"

"To be honest, I've never been on this type of an assignment before. So I don't know what the norm is."

"They assignment me a newbie?" She asked, and I might have been offended if she didn't smile.

"I'm really good at what I do."

"What's that?"  
"Stopping the bad guys, of course."


	7. Wednesday November 5th, 10:38 AM

**Wednesday November 5****th****, 10:38 PM.**

"He wasn't joking, when he said you couldn't trust her." The agent told me, taking a left turn. "I took a look at her file…she's a real case."

I was flipping through it myself. She was never convicted, but was attached to prostitution, about every aspect of the drug industry, and multiple, multiple, cons. Every case was in a different state, and ranged back 5 years. To when she was 15. I was only two years older then this girl, and she had put on a lot of hard miles.

"So why's she going to a safe house?"

"She turned. On that guy." She taps the picture pinned to the file.

It's a guy, my age, and he looks rough. Cold, impassive stare at the camera. The name under it read SAMUEL ULEY.

Flipping back to her case descriptions, in every one, there was an S. Uley mentioned.

"Her pimp?"

"Boyfriend, she claims." The woman rolls her eyes. "But hey, I work every day of the year, who am I to judge young love."

"Why is she going on trail against him then?"

"For the same reason all women turn. He cheated on her."


	8. Friday November 7th, 11:36 AM

**Friday November 7****th****, 11:36 AM.**

"Leah?" I opened the closet door. "It's alright, you can come out now."

She was in the corner of the closet, her hands wrapped around her knees, face buried.

And I thought that she looked scared, alone, and nothing like a criminal. And it went against all my training, kneeling down next to her, whispering _it's okay now_.

"He cheated on me. Sam." She wouldn't look me in the eye. "I'm sure they gave you my file. That you know who he is. I thought I did to…I thought he loved me. He promised me he did. Have you even been left behind?" She looked at me now, and her eyes didn't match the rest of her. Because they were strong, and blazing with anger. "I mean, really left behind."

_Don't get personal._ The agent who had dropped me off told me.

"That's why I took this job. My…my fiancée, she left me for this guy. His whole family actually." Fucking Edward Shiny-Car-Big-House-Lots-Of-Money Cullen.

"He fucked M."

"M?"

"_Em_. She was my best friend…or as much of a friend as you can have doing what I did. Sam…he's not right, in the head. He didn't use to be but all the shit he did…it messes with you. He kept saying he 'imprinted' on Em. That they were _meant to be_. I wasn't sticking around for that."

"Bella, my fiancée, she kept calling him her soulmate. That I was her 'sun', but he was her everything else."

Leah shook her head. "It's tough to love crazy people. But maybe…maybe if I do this he can get some help. Right?"

I nodded. You never knew, I guess.

"So, who was at the front door?"

"Huh?"

"The front door? The knocking? The reason we're in a closet…?"

"Oh. The mailman." I pulled out the folder.

"What's in it?"

And I felt like a tool for not even thinking about opening it. So concentrated that somehow, whoever sent this had my _home fucking address_.

There was one slip of paper in the envelope, it fell out, all there was on it was a boy, a teenager, standing in what looked like a high school parking lot, laughing with a group of people.

It didn't mean anything to me, but I looked up at Leah who had lost all of her color.

"Seth." She said.

"What?"

"He found me, Jacob. Sam. He knows I'm here."


	9. Wednesday November 5th, 10:50 AM

**Wednesday November 5****th****, 10:50 PM.**

"Well here we are." She pulled up to a nondescript little house. "They're dropping her off in the back in a couple of hours. We'll contact you when it's safe for us to pick her up. If you need anything, you have the number."

"Yes s– ma'am."

"Oh, and Agent Black?"

"Thank you, ma'am."

"I wasn't going to say good luck, I was going to say it's your first assignment. Don't fuck it up."


	10. Friday November 7th, 11:50 AM

**Friday November 7****th****, 11:50 AM.**

"So you really think we are safe in an attic?"

"Absolutely."

"And what's the ideal plan? If I make it through this?"

"_When_ you make it through this, we're putting you on a train. I'm not sure where, but you'll get a fresh start."

"What about Seth?"

I found out Seth was her brother. That he had no idea what she was up to, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"After my dad died," She explained. "We needed money…and Sam was already into this _stuff_, so I followed. I send all the money back to my mom. Our only deal is she doesn't tell Seth, and I don't have any contact."

"We have a unit watching him." I assured her.

"Why don't they bring him in? To a so called 'safe house'?"

"They're trying to be discreet."

"Listen, Jacob, no fucking offense, but Sam _knows._ Alright? He _knows_, there is no point in being discreet. And frankly, I don't give a flying fuck about the case. I just want my brother to be safe. I don't understand why they are acting like the cover isn't blown."

And I don't say anything. Because neither do I.


	11. Friday November 7th, 11:37 AM

**Friday November 7****th****, 11:37 AM.**

I shoved Leah up into the crawl space, and whipped out my phone, punching the number to call in an emergency only situation.

"We're blown." I say into the phone. "They know we have Leah. They know where we are. They had my _home address_."

"Has someone made an attempt on your lives?" He recognizes the voice of the not old old man from earlier.

"No, but—"

"Then sit tight."

"_What?_"

"Watch your tone with me, Agent Black. You're new, you're hot headed, and I don't like the way you're speaking to a higher up."

"But sir, they know we are here. The safe house…it's not a safe house anymore."

"There's a door to the attic in the hallway closet, just evacuate up there for now."

"She's already up there. But the attic isn't much more secure then the house."

"Consider it a job well done, Agent."


	12. Thursday November 6th, 2:03 AM

**Thursday November 6****th****, 2:03 AM.**

A car pulled up in back, just like the woman agent said.

It was a small, black, and like everything else, blended in.

She, Leah, got out, and for some reason I expected her to have a bag or something, but she was empty handed.

I didn't even see the driver of this car, but they took off after she had closed the door.

"Hello." She said, with a half wave.

"Right this way." I indicated towards the house.

She nodded, and opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it, taking a few steps forward. I scanned around the yard, everything looked clear.

Leah tripped over a crack on the sidewalk, not thinking, I moved forward to catch her.

"Thanks." She said, her face inches from mine.

I should have known then, at the smallest acceleration of my heartbeat, that this was going to be nothing but trouble.


	13. Friday November 7th, 2:00 PM

**Friday November 7****th****, 2:00 PM.**

__My phone buzzes, and I think that they have finally come up with a new plan.

_Hey Bro, I heard you aren't coming back. Hope it's because you're getting it in with someone other than that boring paleface. Embry says he gives his blessing._

Quil. Delete.

"You left because of a girl?" Leah's been silent. I'm looking out a vent in the wall, making sure nobody comes up unawares, at the very least.

"Basically."

"Because she left you?"

"Basically."

"I ask too many questions?"

"Basically." I smile. "I felt like after she left, everything was over. And I had to get out too. I was with the police, back home. Her dad was chief, so that's how I fell into it." I shrug. _ I was rooting for you, son_. Charlie had told me the day Bella left. _I never did like that Edwin guy._

Yeah, it was just too bad Bella did.

I see a woman walking down the block, and there's nothing that really sticks out about her but…

"Leah, you don't recognize her by chance?" I move over, and Leah scoots up. And I take way too much notice of how her jeans ride back when she leans to look out the vent.

"Fuck." That's what I was worried about. "That's Em."

I message this over to the agency. And I know, _I know_, they get the message right away, yet three minutes pass before they text back what I was worried they would say. _Sit tight_.

"She's basically harmless. Sam probably sent her over to check things out—oh my god. _Shit_. Look at her face. It looks like he beat her with a rake. Oh Em…"

Leah leans back against the wall, her eyes shut. "You know, when they would have safe houses on TV, I used to think they were magic. Not actual magic, but that there was something about the actual _house_ that made it safe. But really…it's just one person. Between Sam, and me."

"But that person is me. And I'm not going to let anything happen to you, I promise."


	14. Wednesday November 5th, 10:10 PM

**Wednesday November 5****th****, 10:10 PM**

I've just closed the door behind me, and reach for my phone, when I realize it must have dropped in the room.

I turn around to open the door, when I hear them talking again.

"Do you think it's enough, sir?" The woman asks.

"The evidence? It's all circumstantial. Even with her testimony."

"We need more."

"More than a drug dealing whore promising her boyfriend is bad? Yeah."

"He seems pretty green." She says, and I know they are talking about me.

"Exactly."


	15. Friday November 7th, 10:40 PM

**Friday, November 7****th****, 10:40 PM.**

It was raining, and it was landing on the floor between my feet. Or, sometimes, even on my head.

"This fucking rain." We had been up here all day, no word from the agency, and we hadn't eaten. "Where is it coming from?"

"There's a crack, Jacob. It's slipping thought." Leah was looking at the ceiling, not really paying attention. I thought she was probably thinking about Seth.

_A crack_.

"What if that's what's going on here?" I sit up.

"Hm?"

"A crack. They are slipping information to Sam. About us…you. About where we are. They are letting him get through. Which is why they are keeping us her because it's intentional."

"Why would they do that?" Leah sits up now also, her attention caught.

"Because…"

_We need more_

And I feel a sinking in my gut. Because I know it's true. "Because they're going to let Sam kill you."

"But I'm worth more alive, testifying, then dead!"

I shake my head. "No. They don't think it will hold up in court. I heard them. They said they needed more on him. And 'catching' him breaking into a safe house, killing the witness. And going through the agent to do so…" A new agent. An agent who, on paper, could be easily believed to make a mistake. To not know what he's doing. A green agent. _Exactly._

"That would be plenty." She finished. "Shit, Jake. What are we going to do?"

And I don't really know how it became we. And how I became Jake. And why it seemed to make sense.


	16. Friday November 7th, 5:17 PM

**Friday November 7****th****, 5:17 PM.**

"Maybe we should sing?"

"Sing?"  
"I don't know. To pass the time. That's what they do in jail."

"We aren't in jail, Leah."

She looks at me, and it says _what's the difference between this and jail?_

"I'm a terrible singer." I warn her, before singing the opening lines to _Dancing Queen_.

She's laughing, and I know we are dangerously close to the "personal" I was warned about. But I thought it seemed worth it.

Because Leah had a really great laugh.


	17. Friday November 7th, 11:11 PM

**Friday November 7****th****, 11:11 PM.**

"I wish I had another gun."

Leah's looking at me. "Why?"

"I don't know. It would just make me feel better. Okay, here's what we are going to do. We're getting out of here. Now. We're running…we can go to a different branch of the agency. Make them listen. Tell them we were attacked, got away." I'm nodding, it seems like a good plan.

"No." Leah says, looking down. "I can't…even if we make it, which is a big if, Seth is still out there. Seth, where Sam can find him, and hurt him if I don't turn myself in."

"Absolutely not." I shake my head. "No."

"I'm not putting my brother in harms way, Jacob."

"It's my job to keep you out of harms way, Leah. There has to be another way."


	18. Saturday November 8th, 12:01 AM

**Saturday November 8****th****, 12:01 AM.**

"I have to keep my brother safe."

She's moved to the other end of the room as me. She'd been getting closer and closer all day. And now we were on opposite sides. I hear a clanging outside, like someone's trying to get in. So it's bad. I move to look out the vent.

"It's Collin and Brady. Maybe even Jared. They all work for Sam. They've come for me."

"No." I say. Like it will make a difference. "They have to get through me."

"You said that that your job is what mattered, and your job is to stop the bad guys. Well, here, right now, your _agency_ is the bad guy. And if you let these guys outside kill you, you're letting your agency win."

"I don't want them to kill you either, Leah. I won't."

She's narrowing her eyes, arms crossed. And she looks so pissed off, but there's just the smallest touch of fear there, too.

"Oh, and why do you care? It's just a job, Jacob. People die in situations like this all the time. If I need to die to keep Seth safe then you can be damn sure—"

And I'm not thinking, I'm just moving. I'm in front of her before she can blink, my hands in her hair.

"Jake—" But I don't listen, I just kiss her.

And suddenly my whole world is filled with _LeahLeahLeah_. I feel her surprise, and then she's kissing me back, her arms twining around, pulling me closer.

I have my tongue down her throat like I need her to breath, and I think that maybe somehow I do.

I haven't been scared for a long time. But when I notice her cheeks are damp, it terrifies me.

Because I know what that means she is going to try to do.


	19. Saturday November 8th, 4:11 AM

**Saturday November 8****th****, 4:11 AM.**

There's a throbbing going though my head. And a noise blasting in my ears.

But the noise is real. It's sirens outside.

I stand up, tumbling towards the attic door.

Leah.

She's gone.

"Leah!" I call out, trying the door. Something in the closet is blocking it closed. And I know she did this.

_Leah_.


	20. Saturday November 8th, 12:34 AM

**Saturday November 8****th****, 12:34 AM. **

It's just one guy outside. I tell Leah, that's good news.

She shakes her heard. "No. It's Jared. Sam sent the best."

Bad news, then.

And he's just standing there. I'm incredulous. Leah looks sad.

Like this Jared guy thinks she's just going to go down there.

I turn around to tell Leah this, and see her standing, looking so…profoundly unhappy.

She deals a swift blow to my temple. I don't even see it coming.

"I'm sorry, Jacob. I'm so sorry." I think I can hear her saying. "I think…I think I could have loved you."


	21. Saturday November 8th, 4:20 AM

**Saturday November 8****th****, 4:20 AM.**

I finally make it out into the yard, yelling for Leah.

The cop car isn't even for the safe house, somebody's house alarm went off, and the police had to come and…

"Agent Black." It's that woman, the she-devil, I've come to think of her.

"Surprised to see me? Alive and all?"

She smiles, thin lipped. "Get in the car."

I don't argue, I know I'm going to end up in this car.

"Where's Leah?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I'm going to the press with this. I'm—"

"No, you're not." And she doesn't even have the common courtesy to sound worried. "You're going back home. You're telling everyone you're job here was a bust. This never happened. Do you understand?"

She pulls up in front of his apartment.

"Here are tickets. You're plane leaves at 8:15. You have…four hours to pack and be gone. If you don't, there will be consequences. And not just for you. Do I make myself clear."

I look at her. "You people are no better. You're no better then Sam. And you sure as hell aren't better than Leah."


	22. Saturday November 8th, 8:16 AM

**Saturday November 8****th****, 8:16 AM.**

I'm on the flight. Despite every bone in my body screaming not to, I got on. Because I couldn't risk anyone else. I couldn't.

But there was one thing I had left to do.

One thing.

And it's address was written on a scrap of insulation paper from the ceiling of the attic.

_Seth Clearwater_. Was all it said.

And I realized I never even knew Leah's last name.


	23. Monday November 10th, 3:04 PM

**Monday November 10****th****, 3:04 PM.**

I didn't know if I would recognize him. I had only seen that one grainy picture that Sam had sent to Leah.

But, come to think about it, I didn't know if Sam had sent it after all.

I did.

Recognize him, that is.

Seth was everything Leah would have wanted him to be, I think. He looked healthy, and happy. He was smiling, and laughing.

"Seth!" I called out to him. And the kid came bounding over, reminding me of a puppy. He looked like he had been sheltered from the world. He came to strangers like it was nothing.

"Do I know you?" He tilted his head to one side.

"No. But I knew your sister."

His smile faltered. "Knew?"

"I'm sorry Seth."

His face crumbled. "Oh Leah." He looked at the ground. "Did Sam do this?"

I think he knew more than Leah gave him credit for. "I'm going to take care of that. I just…she would have wanted you to know. I didn't know her long but…but she really loved you."

Seth nods. "Don't tell my mom. I should tell her."  
I nod. The kid really is related to Leah.


	24. Saturday November 8th, 12:45 PM

**Saturday November 8****th****, 12:45 PM.**

I stumbled into my dad's house, exhausted. Dreading what I was going to have to do on Monday.

"Jakey?" Rebecca called.

The house was dark, which I should have found strange, but didn't notice until now.

"He's home, Becca?" Rachel.

"Oh, little brother, what's happened to you?" Rebecca asks, looking him over.

"It doesn't matter, Jake. We're here now. We'll take care of you."

"Sorry about your party." I say, looking mostly at Rachel.

"Yeah, well I hate surprises."


	25. Sunday November 9th, 6:06 PM

**Sunday November 9****th****, 6:06 PM.**

Jared brings her to Sam, in more or less okay condition.

"Leah." Sam said, and he had the audacity to sound disappointed. "You let me down."

"Well, I'm sure Em can bring you back up. What's left of her face and everything."

Sam ignores her. "Did you at least kill the agent? Who was trapping you?"

Leah feels a pang, thinking of Jacob. One of the only people who was ever nice to her. And she thinks of the last thing she told him, of how true it was.

"He won't be a problem."

"You've let me down." He repeats.

"You cheated on me, you bastard."

Jared steps forward, but Sam waves him off. "I'm going to have to kill you."

"Yeah, I thought as much."

"I'm going to do it quick, because I still care for you."

"Sam, you really are a dick." And she closes her eyes, and thinks of Seth. And it's the smallest sort of consolation prize that Jacob's going to meet him. And she knows, just kind of knows, that Jacob will make sure Seth is okay. _Jacob_, she thinks, _Jacob I– _

Bang_. _


	26. Monday November 10th, 9:42 PM

**Monday November 10****th****, 9:42 PM.**

The drive back from seeing Seth took me a while. It was pitch dark out by the time I pulled up in the driveway.

It was surprising to see either Rachel or Rebecca sitting on the front step, since it was raining out. I know that Rebecca was a closet smoker, but dad would have a fit…

And then they moved, shifting their face up.

It wasn't Rachel or Rebecca.

My hand automatically went for my gun that wasn't there.

The person looked at my truck, squinting.

_Leah_.

I was over to her in three steps.

"Jacob, I'm sorry that I just showed up here like this but—"

And I didn't know I could miss her this much. And she was alive. _Alivealivealive._ And she was here. And now we had a chance. I wrapped my arms around her, burying my face in her neck.

"I'm so happy you're here."

She pulled back to smile, and I noticed a gash in her forheard.

"Did Sam—?"

"Just a warning shot that clipped me a little to close." She shrugged. "No big deal. But I think he's done with me now. He has Emily. He said he would leave me alone. And I didn't know how to talk to Seth yet…and my mom…so I came here."

"How did you know where I lived? Not that I'm complaining."

"The letter. That Sam delivered?"

"But you're safe _now_."

"Yeah, I think so."

I didn't point out that it wasn't a question. I'm just grinning like an idiot, even though we have both barely made it. That we aren't actually in the clear yet.

But we are here.

And sometimes, that's what counts.

**A/N: So…it's been a while. I decided to just upload the whole thing. Sorry if it's spamming some alerts! Thanks for reading :)**


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